Chapter X
That all these virtues, and moral righteousness, are but some dark remains of the image of God in Adam, which is not wholly defaced. What a poor and
despicable thing it is when compared with grace, demonstrated in several in
stances of a comparison between them.
To conclude, this pitch of honesty and religion, which the most rest in
for grace, is but from those principles which divines call reliquias prioris
imaginis, the relics of the first image defaced, which God hath put into
corrupt nature lest men should be devils upon earth. It is but a blaze kindled out of the embers raked up in the ashes of corrupt nature, blown up and continued by education, which men think to please God with, as Nadab and Abihu did with strange fire ; which relics and imperfect pieces of the
law, written by nature in men s hearts, they set together, and set it up and adore it as God s image. So as indeed they err the same error in the opinion about their own estate, which Pelagius in his doctrinedid ; for the ground of his error was a mistaking this moral goodness, and abilities of nature to understand and assent to the word, for true grace ; as appeareth in Augus tine s disputes against the Pelagians ; and so do these men in their opinions concerning their own estate, and so do as dangerously err against their own
souls as he did against the truth. And in this is the deep deceit of men s hearts seen, that all errors of doctrine, abstractly considered, which they, in
their speculative judgments, often detest, they yet assume and take up in
their practical judgments, to judge of themselves or others by. So men that
deny justification by works, in the doctrine of it, do yet secretly trust to their own works. And indeed popery is natural to men, and so is Pelagianism too, namely, to take that in themselves for grace which Pelagius went about to
establish in his heretical doctrine to be grace. And let me add this consi deration here, that if much of such moral goodness, and these principles mentioned, had not been in nature, Pelagius could have had no ground at
all for his opinions, nor would they have spread so as they did, nor have been so generally entertained.
And so I come to a third sort of demonstrations, by comparing this glow worm with the true and glorious image of God, in whomsoever it is to be found ; and so by bringing it to the true light, it will appear to be coun
terfeit.
As, 1, let us view this true holiness, as it shines in the holy and spiritual law of God; for Adam being now fallen, and so that image extinguished, and never a pattern left by which to see what this image was, God therefore set forth a copy of it in his word, which now is the means of sanctifying of us ; and sanctification itself is but a writing of that law in the heart, and a con firmation of the heart thereunto. And if civil men will but bring their pitch of obedience to this law, and compare themselves with the spiritualness of it, they will find that not only there is a defect in degrees, but of essential parts ; and that there are wanting the chiefest and eminentest parts of God s image, which are to the rest as the face is to the rest of the members in the body of a man, in which face there is more beauty and more of a man than in all the
420 AN UNREGENEBATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK X.
rest ; and they picture often the face for the whole man. These great and
principal parts of holiness are wanting in unregenerate men, for that is holi ness which is a conformity to the first table, the duties whereof are called the great things of the law, Hosea viii. 12; and which indeed are especially called holiness, as being made immediately for God, when the other are for man ; and the duties of the second table are called righteousness, of the first
holiness, Eph. iv. 24, and so distinguished, Luke i. 75. These great things of the law which concern God and his service, are the least in their hearts, and so they have, perhaps, the legs and feet of holiness, yet the face they want. You tithe mint and cummin, says Christ, Luke xi. 42, and pass over the love of God, which Christ calls
* the great commandment, Mat.
xxii. 36. You shall find these men dead and heartless to such duties ; and the more spiritual the duty is, and tends to set God up in the heart, and so the more holy it is, the more averse their hearts are to it ; as to meditate in
private, to digest the word, to search their hearts, to speak of God and his
kingdom, &c.
If a man should bring the broad seal to a patent, and you should find that the arms of England were left out (which is the ehiefest of the three king doms) or misplaced, and those of the other kingdoms set above it, you would say, surely this seal is counterfeit, and never had the impression from the king s true broad seal above. So all you that do boast of God s
image, and yet the duties of the first table are in a great part left out, or
slighted by you, in comparison of the second, you may say truly, this heart mever came under the broad seal of heaven.
:fl. And where else shall we find this image of God ? Even in Christ, who was the express image of his Father, Heb. i. 3, and into whose image all
: 2 Cor. iii. 12, Seeing then that we have such
true Christians are changed
* grace for
hope, we use great plainness of speech, and we receive of him
grace, John i. 15; that is, all graces in their measure answering to his; even as a father begets a child in his own image, limb for limb. Let these men, therefore, but compare their pitch with the virtues and practices of
Christ, bring we. then their counterfeit copy to this original, according to which all believers are renewed, and therefore are called upon to shew
forth the virtues of him who hath called us, &c., in 1 Pet. ii. 9. And
though no believer receives this image in the same pitch of degrees that
Christ had, yet for kind and extent of essential parts, for the true grace and
of this breed, all do receive it ; and then those parts which were most emi nent in Christ will be so in a believer also. As in the child begotten by his
father in his likeness, look what members are biggest in the father, are in a
proportion so also in the child.
But dare you that are civil men come to this pattern ? Do but read his
story, view his steps, and what paths you find most in him. Was he a civil man only, and rested there as you ? It were blasphemy to say so. It is true he performed all you rest in, he followed his calling, and was obedient to his
parents, yet neglected not his heavenly Father s business; but, above all, took care for that, as he told his mother, Luke ii. 49. But thi-s you neglect. He paid also tithes to Caesar, yet that was but a by-business, and therefore
at the same time he called for God s due : Mat. xxii. 21, To give to God
the things that are God s, as well as to CaBsar the things that are Caesar s, because he that asked him that question, as they that sent him were proved
justiciaries, who, whilst they rested in paying men their dues, and in a for mal serving of God, neglected to give him that which was due to so great and holy a God. He came also to the public ordinances ; in one evangelist
it is said, It was his custom so to do, Luke iv. 16, it being the public wor-
CHAP. X*] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 421
ship of the place. But was that all ? No ; he spent besides whole nights in prayer alone by himself.
So, for moral virtues, they were all to be found in him, but yet all elevated and raised, and of a higher strain ; so that if you would have them go for
signs to yourselves of a good estate, they must flow from union with him, and then they will be of another kind than mere moral virtues are, differing as much from those wild virtues in the heathens, and that grow in the moun
tains of prey, as the psalmist calls the Gentiles, Ps. Ixxvi. 4, even as much
as sweet-marjoram, or any the like herb that grows in the garden, differs from that which grows in the wilderness ; the one is a weed, the other an
herb. And when men believe on Christ, then their meekness will not pro ceed from a softness of nature, but from a heart first humbled, tamed, wounded with the wrongs done to Christ, and being overcome with his love
pardoning, they will be meek towards others that wrong them. Thus, in the
reckoning up those moral virtues of kindness, mercy, meekness, &c., shews
the differing spring and kind in the elect from what is in others : Col. iii.
12, 13, Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any : even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. That speech, as the elect of God, is both a note of distinction for another kind of humility, that becomes
the elect and beloved of God, than is found in others, and also is mentioned
as that, the consideration whereof was to be the root and nourisher of these
virtues in their hearts ; that considering God s electing peculiar love to them, out of which he was kind to them when enemies to him, and out of that
love, long-suffering, forbearing them many years, bearing their bold and pre sumptuous offences towards him ; that they, as those whom God had thus
dealt with, would answerably carry themselves towards others, and so be
* as your heavenly Father is
merciful, not as men use to be merciful, but
* Forbearing one an other ; if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so
merciful, Luke vi. 36 ; and so he goes on : Col. iii. 13,
also do ye. That is the spring of Christian meekness, and Christ he is the
rule and measure of it ; so do ye therefore : Mat. xi. 29, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall
* for I am lowly and meek. And, indeed, the meekest moralist in the world must learn a new kind of meekness from Christ. Thus, too, as to that love and sweetness, and
find rest unto your souls. Learn of me, says Christ,
ingenuity of nature to those we live with ; this, says Christ, the Gentiles have towards those that love them. But Christ s love will extend itself fur
ther, to the saints, as in David: Ps. xvi. 2, 3, My goodness, says he, extendoth to the saints, to those that excel in virtue. Christ, indeed, loved the young man that was but civil. The text says,
* He looked on him, and loved him, Mark x. 21. But how did his bowels work towards his poor sheep and children, and shewed his esteem of them more than of his kindred ?
He is my brother, and sister, and mother, that doth my Father s will,
says he, Mark iii. 35. Also that mercy and pity thou boastest of, if it were of the right Christian kind, would work and extend itself further than to
bodily miseries that men are in. Thus Christ was affected for men s souls. He was good to the bodies of men, indeed ; he healed their diseases and fed
their bodies, Mark ix. 37 ; but it was their souls he most compassionated, because they wanted spiritual food ; that, therefore, is expressly added, ver. 36. This drew tears from him when he wept over Jerusalem : Luke
xix. 41, How oft would I have gathered thee, &c. And to do good to the
poor woman of Samaria, was better to him than his meat, and made him
422 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK X.
neglect his dinner. I have meat, says he, you know not of, John iv. 32. So that humility in him was not that proud humility of the world, which is indeed but courtesy, giving honour to others, expecting the like from them
again, as Christ says of the pharisees, that they received honour one of
another, John v. 44 ; but his was seen especially in not seeking honour but in God s way ; so John vii. 35, when his kinsfolks provoked him to do his great works, and shew himself to the world, My time is not yet come, says he. This was seen also in denying his own will, and submitting to his Father : Not my will, but thine be done, says he, Mat. xxvi. 39. So in
emptying himself of his glory, and becoming of no reputation, Philip, ii. 7. To glorify his Father, he shewed his humility in the highest degree. Thus
will all your moral virtues be raised, if Christ hath but touched them with that virtue that is in him.
3. If we would see yet farther what is the true genius and strain of holi
ness, we must also search heaven for it, where it is in its brightness and
* the spirits of just men made perfect, who wear the parliamentary robes of holiness every day, to whom we are said, Heb.
perfection in the angels, and
xii. 23, to be come, that is, to enjoy in some measure the same life, and to be a-fitting for the same condition ; we now are a-making meet to be par takers of that inheritance in light, Col. i. 12, but they there in heaven have the Spirit, the quintessence of holiness ; and yet those virtues which are eminentest in civil men would have no use nor exercise at all there. Of so
little account are they in that place where holiness dwells and reigns, as there is no use of chastity (for
* they marry not, nor give in marriage, Mat.
xxii. 30), nor of temperance, nor just dealing, &c. These commandments are but for this world, and concern the fleshly part of man, as he is to reside
here, which they therefore in heaven are not capable of; and therefore the
spirit, the soul, the power of holiness must lie in dispositions, and duties, and performances, of a higher nature. These are but the sensitive part (as I may so speak) of godliness, and they are to the power of holiness that which the sensitive faculties are to the rational, which, when the body is laid aside, the soul hath no use of, so neither is there any exercise for such virtues in heaven.
Therefore, consider that the holiness which thou must trade with in heaven must be begun here, without which no man shall see God ; and that the
duties of the second table are but for this world. In which that thou
mightest be fit in some measure to live orderly, God hath endued thee with such virtues, and hath given principles to fit thee for such a life ; but when thou art to go trade in another world, where holiness is only current, and
nothing but what hath God s image stamped upon it will pass, think with
thyself, what hast thou of holiness to carry thither, without which thou canst not see God.
4. I may add unto this, in the fourth place, that we may see wherein the
image of God chiefly consists, by considering wherein the spirit and power of wickedness consists. Now, the chiefest of the power of wickedness lies not in drunkenness, uncleanness, and such kind of profane courses, for then the devils should be less wicked than men, because they have not bodies with which to commit such sins ; and by the same reason the souls in hell now, and reprobate men after the day of judgment, should not be so wicked as now. But these all are more wicked, and therefore their highest degree of wickedness must lie in sins of a higher nature, and therefore such sins are
called (Eph. vi. 12) spiritual wickedness, which are seen in the neglect and contempt of God, and the hatred of him and his saints. Now, there
fore, by the rule of contraries, it must needs follow that true spiritual holi-
CHAP. XI.] IN BESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 423
ness must chiefly consist in the contrary to all these spiritual wickednesses,
i. e. in loving God, fearing him, and in a fervent desire and endeavour |to
approve ourselves to him in all our ways, and worshipping him with an holy
worship, &c.